Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1887-02-24

putteruy's wing.
Was 1t to be the hand of a saint or
sinnere-was It to WELD a scepter, or
hold almsY-was II to grasp life's roses,
or bleed with the wounds of life's
thorns?-would IL ever hold a human
heart, and II 1t did, would II throw that
heart away?-would II be raised In
prayer, holding the white lily Of inno-
cence, or would II be branded with the
red stain of guilt?-would II be the
white, bright hand of an angel, beckon-
ing others to heaven, or would 1t be the
white hand Turing others to destruc-
ton? Who could tell, as 1t lay in the
broaI, brown palm of the nurse, with
the June sunshine on II?
The pretty maid-servant had asked
the nurse what she was doing, and the
answer was:
~ am reading the lines on the child's
hand"
"Show them to me, nurse" said
Anne Roberts, gathering courage.
The old woman opened the little
hand, which was really like the crum-
pied leaf of rose; she pointed to the
tiny lines that were like the veins of a
rose-leaf.
"Look," she said, "ths is the line of
life; 1t breaks abruptly, then seems TO
begin again and runs to the furthest
end. This is the line Of MARRIAGE; il
seems to promise an early marriage;
see, it breaks abruptly again, but from
1t rises another line that also runs on to
the end. Do you see that cross, just in
the middle of the palm, here where the
two lines meet; that always foreshadows
a tragedy; whether sudden death, MUIR
der or suicide, no one knows"
Heaven bless the little child!" cried
the pretty servant-maid. DO not say
such horrible things"
IL only say what l read. And see,"
said the nurse, "that cross means a
tragedy. Not one in three thousand
have 1t. There is no sign Of 1t in your
hands or mine, not the faintest."
The nurse went on:
1.-The line of marriage is crossed by
the line of death, yet does not end it.
do not like to prophesy, but tell you
that the child lying here will have an
extraordinary life-a wonderful des-
tiny. Whether Ii will be romance OF
tragedy only Heaven knows"
IL am afraid" said the pretty young
servant, "it is life beginning sadly
enough"
She took the little pink hand from
the nurse, and held it to her lips.
"Let me kiss all the dreadful things
you have been saying away" she cried.
"Oh, pretty baby, you have angels
round you just as any other. ! ain
glad you can neither hear nor under
stand all those gloomy words. 1t is
like an i'll omen 10 hear such things
over the child. Things are bad enough,
but | will not believe there is either
sudden death or suicide in those pretty
hands"
~ said they hold tragedy. So they
do; and those who live the longest will
find my words come true"
Il will not hear any moae of it," said
the pretty house-maid. "How is the
poor mistress, nurse?'
"Going fast. There will be some
thing more than the breath of flowers
carried up to the stars tonight"
'Do you think she will die tonight"
asked the girl in tones of awe.
"MOst likely" replied the nurse. ut
seems strange that Heaven should let
the sun shine on the poor little baby,
yet take its mother away. The sun
shine seems to bless it, yet i. is losing
the best thing in life."
The pretty house-maid ose from her
knees.
81 must CO." she said. at will be
sorrowful house, although the summer
sun shines on it. Can | do anything to
help nurse?"
AS she spoke, wall of beautiful, I'M
earthly music sounded through the
house, music so sad and so sweet that II
seemed to paralyZe the two women, al
though the little babe slept on, still
smiling.
"He can not keep from it," said the
nurse. HE is playing the death dirge
Of his poor young wife, but he does not
know it,"
~ shall be glad to leave the place
and get somewhere a little livelier,"
said the house-maid. THAT music
turns my blood cold, and seems never
to cease"
1.-The master lie what they call gen.
ius," said the nurse. ''For my part !
do not care for geniuses. have known
two or three, and they are always tire
some people,"
"That child looks as il it heard the
music" said Anne Roberts, suddenly,
and she was relieved when she stood
out in the sunshiny garden; everything
seemed uncanny in the house.
TO BE CONTINUED.